6.  The applicant was born in 1979 and lives in Przemyśl.
7.  In 1998 the applicant was charged with assaulting a certain A.B. On 15 April 1999 criminal proceedings against him and a co-accused were instituted. On 9 May 2000 the bill of indictment was filed with the Szczecin District Court. On 27 June 2000 both accused were present. However the hearing was adjourned since the applicant had not been served with the bill of indictment. The trial eventually began on 13 January 2004. The applicant was present at the hearing.
8.  The applicant subsequently left Poland. He submitted that before leaving, he informed the court that he could be contacted at a correspondence address in Przemysl. He also called the court a few times, asking about progress on his case. The Government disagreed and maintained that the case filed contained no proof that the applicant had attempted to contact the court. They stated that the applicant had not informed the court about his new correspondence address.
9.  On 12 February 2004 the applicant failed to appear at the hearing. The Szczecin District Court ordered that the applicant be remanded in custody for a period of three months. The decision reads as follows:
“the court orders that Piotr Nowak be remanded in custody for a period of three months, since he failed to comply with a summons”.
10.  In March 2004 the applicant started working in L'viv, Ukraine.
11.  On 20 January 2005, at around 11 a.m., the applicant went to a police station in L'viv to report that his friend's car had been stolen. The police checked his passport, verified his personal details and locked him up in a cell. When he asked for the reasons for his arrest he was told that he was an “international thief”. He was subsequently questioned by the officers. He submits that during the questioning the officers severely beat him and extinguished cigarettes and matches on his wrist and forearm.
12.  On 24 January 2005 a decision of the police concerning his voluntary expulsion was served on him.
13.  The applicant was kept at the police station until the afternoon of 24 January 2005, when he was transported to the Polish border control post in Medyka, where he arrived at around 7 p.m. At around 8 p.m. he was examined by a doctor who noted that the applicant had cigarette burns on his left forearm and provided him with medical aid.
14.  The applicant was arrested on the basis of the detention order of 12 February 2004 and a wanted notice issued by the Szczecin police station on 2 August 2004. He was then transferred to the Przemysl Detention Centre.
15.  On 25 January 2005 the applicant asked the court to release him from detention. He submitted that he would stay in Poland until the end of the trial. The letter reached the trial court on 1 February 2005.
16.  On 31 January 2005 the applicant was examined by a prison doctor. The doctor stated that the applicant had two 0.5 cm cigarette burns on his left hand, plus two similar marks on his left wrist and one on his forearm. He also had abrasions on his lower and upper lip and a broken front tooth.
17.  According to the applicant, he was served with the detention order of 12 February 2004 on 2 February 2005. The Government disagreed maintaining that the applicant received the letter from the court on 1 February 2005.
18.  On 4 February 2005 the Szczecin District Court dismissed the applicant's motion of 25 January 2005. The court held that the applicant had left the country and failed to appear at hearings. For these reasons he had obstructed the proceedings.
19.  On 8 February 2005 the applicant filed another application for release.
20.  On 11 February 2005 the Szczecin District Court ordered the applicant's release on bail, which it set at 2,000 Polish zlotys (PLN) (approximately EUR 500). It also prohibited him from leaving the country. The decision was served on a later, unknown date.
21.  On 14 February 2005 the Szczecin District Court received the applicant's appeal against his arrest on 20 January 2005 by the Ukrainian Police. On 23 February 2005 the District Court dismissed the appeal against the applicant's arrest by the Polish police on 24 January 2005. The court considered that the arrest was justified, prompt and legal.
22.  On 28 February 2005 the applicant paid the bail and on the same day he was released from detention.
23.  On 12 December 2005 the Szczecin District Court convicted the applicant as charged and fined him PLN 2,000.
24.  Both the applicant and the prosecutor appealed. On 28 April 2006 the Szczecin Regional Court quashed the first-instance judgment and remitted the case.
25.  On 11 March 2008 the Sczczecin District Court gave judgment and acquitted the applicant. The judgment is final.
26.  On 29 May 2008, on the applicant's complaint, the Szczecin Regional Court acknowledged the excessive length of criminal proceedings before the Szczecin District Court and granted the applicant 3,000 PLN by way of just satisfaction.
27.  On 29 October 2008 the Szczecin Regional Court dismissed the applicant's request for compensation for unjustified pre-trial detention under Article 552 § 4 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court noted that the applicant was present at the hearing held on 13 January 2004 during which he was informed about the date of the subsequent hearing i.e. 12 February 2004. Since he failed to appear at that hearing, the trial court ordered his detention on remand. Subsequently, the trial court also issued a wanted notice for him. He was detained on 24 January 2005 and released on 28 February 2005. The court held that while indeed the applicant had been detained for 36 days and finally acquitted, the detention could not be considered “obviously unjustified”. It referred to the fact that the applicant was hiding from justice and a wanted notice had been issued. The court considered that the applicant's detention was justified in the circumstances of the case and therefore his request should be dismissed.
28.  The applicant failed to appeal against this judgment.